Lucid Dreaming for an Absolute Beginner and Youth?

**TheConned** · 05-06-2014 11:59 AM

First off, I would like to say I am new to this forum and I hope to spend a lot of time here.

To give you some small details about myself, I'm 15, I'm from Australia and the reason I seek Lucid Dreams is not only to have a small amount of fun and excitement in my dreams, but also because I have heard of Lucid Dreams being able to help with mental illnesses like Depression and Anxiety. I'm not stating that it will cure them and I do not intend for them to do that, I have just heard from many people both online and IRL that a Dream Psychologist is the best thing ever to speak to and it really opens your eyes when it comes to those sorts of things, and maybe I am looking to speak to my dog while I'm at it

Anyway, I try my best to do RC's everytime I walk through a door way by attempt to push two of my fingers through my hand and thinking "Is this a dream?" I also tried doing a dream journal, but my dreams are so faint, It just feels like I have seen blackness for my period sleeping. I'm not sure if this makes me unable to Lucid Dream or not which would kind of suck.

I'm not sure what the method is called, but I have attempted both of the methods below and neither worked. I was also unable to write in my dream journal as like I said, my dreams are very faint.

1. Laid in bed on my back and relaxed and closed my eyes and started counting from 1 to 100 with the words, "1... I am dreaming, 2... I am dreaming, 3... I am dreaming.) While this did make my hands and legs go numb (I'm not sure if just because of lack of movement.) It didn't make me lucid.

2. After attempting that method, I decided to just go to sleep and forgot that I had set an alarm for five hours time at about 2-3 in the morning. I woke up and thought "Yes, this is my chance to try again!" I basically did the same method but this time, from just waking. This still didn't work and before I knew it, it was morning and I had to make my way to school.

Basically, I'm looking for any advice you people can give me and while I may seem a bit young, I can assure you I am very mature.

Is there any easier and better methods for a complete beginner to try than the methods I just stated above?

I do feel I want to reach Lucidity as soon as possible and while I know it is not a rush and it wont come over night, I really want to give it a try and see if it can at least help with my mental issues and if not possibly just make me feel better about myself or my self esteem.

Thanks and Regards.

Any help you people can provide would be much appreciated!

**martakartus** · 05-06-2014 02:40 PM

Welcome to Dreamviews!

Personally, I don't think there's an age limit for lucid dreaming. I started when I was 19 (I'm 20 at the moment and I still consider myself a beginner), a bit older than you, but not much. So I don't believe this is a problem.

In fact, the younger you are, the more time you'll have to practice.

As for the dream journal thing, I don't know how long you've been keeping it for, but developing good dream recall can take some weeks or a few months. I spent a couple of months focusing only on dream recall because I wanted it to be really good. At the beginning it may look like you're not making much progress, but over the weeks you'll see your recall will increase to the point where you easily remember four dreams a night. And don't worry about it, as long as you dream (which you do), you sure will be able to lucid dream.

And regarding the techniques... seems like you were trying a WILD (Wake Iniciated Lucid Dream). I have never succeeded with this technique yet, but what I can assure you is that it won't work if you do it right when you go to sleep, you should've had a few hours of sleep before. And also, inducing sleep paralysis takes quite a while, so for this technique you need to be willing to sacrifice some 30-45 min of sleep. But even so, I suggest you wait a bit to try it, because it takes practice and you don't want to get frustrated too early.

Instead, I would try other methods for now. For instance, starting with the basics, you could try doing Reality Checks and asking yourself whether you are dreaming or not throughout the day. This would eventually transfer into your dreams and you could have a Dream Induced Lucid Dream (DILD).

Actually, there's a ton of different techniques for you to try, it's for sure that you'll find one which suits you well. Have a look around the forum, there's a lot of information. I suggest you check Introduction Zone and Induction Methods and Techniques . In this last one you can get information about many techniques and you can post any questions you have.

Happy dreaming!!

**gab** · 05-06-2014 05:06 PM

That's an excellent post martakartus.

I would just add, that sleep paralysis is not part of lucid dreaming. I'm borrowing a quote from my post yesterday http://www.dreamviews.com/introducti...l#post2100399:

Originally Posted by gab

SP is something our body initiates after we start dreaming. It's not something we can turn on by ourselves. We are in SP, or more correctly called REM atonia every night, numerous time, every time we dream. It paralyzes our body, so we don't act out our dreams and get hurt or hurt those around us. We don't get SP before we start dreaming, because it would be dangerous not being able to move while still awake.

The sensations like vibrations, or anything else are simply normal sensations that we may experience as we watch our body falling asleep. Body relaxes and shuts down and all kinds of crazy sensations may happen. They happen every time, but we notice them only when we are WILDing and paying attention to the falling asleep proces.

http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...mystified.html
http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...explained.html

So SP is not a goal, since it's involuntary action. It will happen by itself.

The sensations however may be kind of a mile marker that tell us where we are. Also hypnogogic hallucinations - HH. They are best observed calmly and passively. Which is easier said than done, because they are so exciting.

**ToxicBear** · 05-06-2014 08:17 PM

Hey! I am new here and starting out as well!

I would say that the most important thing to make sure you excel quickly would be to stay motivated. The forum helps with that a lot, there are a lot of people here from veterans to fellow beginners to talk to!
I would recommend starting a workbook in one of the DV academy courses (The intro class would be a good place to start) this can show your progress over time and allow others to provide feedback/tips etc.
keeping a dream journal is essential, if you write down everything, even just fragments to begin with, it with really improve recall! and its convenient that you can keep one here on the forum.

Other than that have a wander around the forum, you will find good articles, and answers to most of your questions.
Also keep up with the WILD attempts (I think it's the best!

) or just find a technique that works for you. See ya!

**~Dreamer~** · 05-07-2014 01:33 AM

Hey TheConned,
Nice to see a fellow Aussie on DV!

Lucid dreaming has had an amazing effect on my mental health.
I have confronted various issues in LDs, such as social anxiety and other waking fears, recurring nightmares, suppressed emotions, anger towards certain people in my waking life, etc.
I plan to do some 'inner reconnection work' in future LDs, which is a visualisation technique used by psychologists to help patients make peace with their younger selves (usually done while awake, but I think it could be even more effective and vivid in a LD.)
Lucid dreaming has also been a great source of motivation for me when I've had very low energy/drive at times.
PM me if you want to know anything more specific.

Youth is not an issue at all. There are many people your age on DV.
Members like Hukif and Oreo started even younger than you, and their LD counts are in the thousands now.

Don't give up on the recall/DJ, it can take some time to form a good routine.
Have you tried staying as still as possible with your eyes closed for a minute after you wake up? This is the best way to ensure that your dream memories stick with you.
If you can't remember your dreams, record how you felt upon waking. This will help you to develop a habit of keeping your dream journal, and may even prompt you to remember
a dream later on. Make sure you jot down any fragments you remember, even if they don't form a narrative. This can include people, places, objects, scenarios, events, etc.

Your bedtime routine is equally important.
What do you usually do in the half hour before you go to bed?

Good luck with your lucid journey, I look forward to following your progress!